It made the announcement following a report by Forbes earlier this week. This stated that the People’s Bank of China was set to give its first round of central bank digital currency (CBDC) to Alibaba Group and seven others, including internet giant Tencent.

The other beneficiaries, it claimed, were China Construction Bank, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the Bank of China, the Agricultural Bank of China, Chinese banking association Union Pay and an unnamed organisation.

An anonymous source said that the technology was ready to ship, and that the ‘DC/EP’ (Digital Currency/Electronic Payments), as it has been dubbed, could roll-out as early as 11th November, China’s busiest shopping day, aka Singles Day.

The recipient institutions would then be responsible for dispersing the cryptocurrency to 1.3 billion Chinese citizens and others doing business in the renminbi, China’s fiat currency, according to the source. They added that the central bank hopes the currency will eventually be made available to consumers in the US and elsewhere through relationships with correspondent banks in the west.

Forbes has not updated or retracted its story, which is no surprise given a.) it has been a big hit for the publication and b.) this is Chinese state media we’re talking about.